Types of Raw Incense
Kerry Hughes in The Incense Bible, 2014
Benzoin is a resin that is obtained from wounding the bark of trees, and it has a soft, sweet fragrance that resembles vanilla. The resin is extracted from trees by wounding the cambium of the tree repeatedly. The resin is produced as yellowish white tears, with the whitest being of higher quality. The benzoin from Siam (Thailand) is sweeter than that of Sumatra, and it is the more precious and expensive of the two. The “benzoin” is actually a purified portion of the “resinoid”—commonly called benzoin—that is obtained through an extraction (usually alcohol) process (approximately 3 kg resinoid produces 1 kg benzoin). For incense burning, the resinoid is usually used because it is more solid. Benzoic acid (a preservative for foods, drinks, fats, and pharmaceuticals) is now a synthetic product that once was extracted from Sumatra benzoin.
How to read a recipe?
Ulrike Steinert in Systems of Classification in Premodern Medical Cultures, 2020
Interestingly, benzoin, an xi xiang 安息香, is regularly mentioned in juxtaposition to devil’s dung in all five formulae. The two occur pairwise, benzoin being mentioned first in four of the five. However, neither is mentioned in the standard TCM textbook Zhongyao xue (Ling Yigui 1984), which might be indicative of them both being used in exorcistic and demonological practices. Benzoin (a much-valued resin), alongside amber and ox-bezoar (Lomi 2017), had and still has qualities of jewellery, to which demons are often attracted.
B
Anton Sebastian in A Dictionary of the History of Medicine, 2018
Benzoin Resin from the tree Styrax benzoin, indigenous to Southeast Asia. The first mention appears amongst the commodities of Arab traders in the 10th century. It was a precious commodity in the 15th century and was included amongst the gifts sent by the Sultan of Egypt to the governors of Venice. An accurate account of it as a drug was given by Garcia de Orta, a physician from Salamanca, while he was stationed at Goa in 1563. It was known in England as Gum Benjamin and was imported in the 17th century.
Facts and ideas from anywhere
Published in Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, 2019
William Roberts
In the pandemic of 1918, physicians tried a number of therapies, including bloodletting, laxatives (magnesia, calomel [mercury chloride]), aspirin, Friar’s balsam (benzoin) or eucalyptus leaves, quinine, mustard plaster, codeine, phenolphthalein, castor oil, burning orange peels, diced onions, and poisonous gases, including chlorine gas. Not all physicians practiced like quacks during the pandemic. James B. Herrick (1861–1954), a prominent Chicago physician who was the first to describe sickle cell disease in 1910 and the nonfatal outcome of acute myocardial infarction in 1912, pleaded with physicians to stop using nearly all the medications in their arsenal, emphasizing that there was no evidence that any of them worked. He stressed that the condition was self-limiting. Herrick recommended isolation, face masks, plenty of fluids, and lots of rest. Of the millions who typically get the flu virus each year, less than 1% die. Antibiotics, of course, are ineffective against the flu.
Ecofriendly synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles by Euphrasia officinalis leaf extract and its biomedical applications
Published in Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, 2018
Hina Singh, Juan Du, Priyanka Singh, Tae Hoo Yi
Several investigators have reported that the nanoparticles can induce toxicity to cancer cells and therefore be utilized as potent therapeutic agents for cancers [17–19]. In the present study, the anticancer activity of AgNPs and AuNPs was tested against RAW 246.7 cells (murine macrophage, non-cancerous), A549 (human lung cancer) and HeLa (human cervical cancer) cell line. AgNPs and AuNPs did not show cytotoxicity towards RAW 246.7 cell at the concentration up to 10 μg/mL. However, in case of AgNPs, the growth of A549 cell line was inhibited up to 11 ± 0.5% and growth of HeLa cell line was inhibited by 13.5 ± 2.2% at the concentration 10 μg/mL (Figure 7(a)). On the other hand, AuNPs did not show any cytotoxic effect against A549 cancer cells, at the concentration 10 μg/mL, the viability was determined to be 87.9 ± 2.3%. But AuNPs exhibited little cytotoxicity towards HeLa cells. The viability was reduced to 67.8 ± 1.1% at the concentration 10 μg/mL (Figure 7(b)). The MTT analysis is an assessment of the activity of succinate dehydrogenase, so the observed effect could be due to the cytostatic or cytotoxic effect of nanoparticles, although, the activity revealed the significant anticancer activity of AgNPs and AuNPs. Similarly, activity AgNPs synthesized from Styrax benzoin and Borago officinalis has been reported recently [12,20]. However, in vivo study is required to understand the mechanism and mode of clearance of nanoparticles.
Common dermatological conditions in the HIV patient
Published in South African Family Practice, 2019
HM Motswaledi
These are caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV). Both verruca vulgaris, verruca plana, and genital warts (condyloma accuminata) are common in HIV patients. Verruca vulgaris presents as verrucous, fungating, cauliflower-like lesions, whilst verruca plana are flat (Figure 4). Topical therapies like trichloroacetic acid and podophyllin resin in a compound tincture of benzoin may help. Ablative therapies such as cryotherapy and curettage may be helpful in patients with fewer lesions.1
Related Knowledge Centers
- Balsam
- Benzoic Acid
- Benzoin
- Frankincense
- Resin
- Styrax
- Flavoring
- Tincture of Benzoin
- Storax Balsam
- Odor